


this will be the one i've waited for

by transbuck



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Fix-It, Love Confessions, M/M, Post 2x08, can ya tell that i love writing love confessions. cause that shit is my JAM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 20:30:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16960992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transbuck/pseuds/transbuck
Summary: Buck snatches up his phone quickly and retreats into the kitchen before Maddie can get a good look at the contact name. She does, however, get a good enough look at the contact photo to have an idea of who's calling Buck."Wait, was that...?" Maddie starts, throwing a wide-eyed look toward Chimney."A picture of Eddie?" Chimney finishes, throwing an equally as surprised look toward Maddie. "Yeah.""Oh my God," Maddie says.





	this will be the one i've waited for

**Author's Note:**

> the first time i watched "buck, actually," i genuinely thought eddie was the one who invited buck for some coffee. but then, yknow, it was actually Earthquake Girl. so heres what i thought (and hoped) was gonna happen
> 
> title from "this will be (an everlasting love)" by natalie cole

Just as Buck is trying to explain to Maddie and Chimney that they're totally and absolutely a couple, he gets an unexpected phone call. Buck snatches up his phone quickly and retreats into the kitchen before Maddie can get a good look at the contact name. She does, however, get a good enough look at the contact photo to have an idea of who's calling Buck.

"Wait, was that...?" Maddie starts, throwing a wide-eyed look toward Chimney.

"A picture of Eddie?" Chimney finishes, throwing an equally as surprised look toward Maddie. "Yeah."

" _Oh my God_ ," Maddie says. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I have no idea," Chimney says, glancing toward Buck.

"Wait, shush, I think I might be able to hear what he's saying," Maddie whispers, making a vague gesture with her free hand as she leans forward to hear Buck better.

"Hey. How you doing?" Buck says into the phone and Maddie can see the sweetest of smiles on his face. "Um, coffee? Uh, yeah, I don't know if... I-I mean, you know I have a shift tomorrow, and... Yeah. I will... All right. All right. See ya." He slowly meanders back into the living room as he hangs up the phone and pulls it away from his ear, staring wistfully down at his phone.

"Oh my God, I think Eddie just asked Buck out," Maddie whispers conspiratorially to Chimney.

"He  _definitely_ did," Chimney whispers back. "Since when is Buck even into guys?"

Maddie shrugs and is about to say something more when Buck sits back down in front of them. "What was that all about?" she asks Buck.

Only now does Buck look up from his phone, eyes wide and cheeks noticeably flushed. "Huh?"

"What was that all about?" Chimney repeats, giving Maddie a sidelong glance.

"Nothing," Buck says a little too quickly to not be suspicious, setting his phone back down on the coffee table. Maddie can't help but notice that he sets it facedown this time. " _Anyway_ , as I was saying, when did you guys start dating, huh?" Maddie rolls her eyes and shares a significant look with Chimney.

"How about we talk about how  _unsubtle_ your boy crush on Eddie is getting?" Maddie asks with a smug smirk. Chimney snorts and almost spits out his drink.

"I'm-  _excuse me_?!" Buck asks, and Maddie wishes she could take a picture of the look of absolute embarrassment on his face.

"You said  _'nothing'_ far too quickly for it to _not_ be suspicious. And you're suddenly being pretty secretive about your phone all of a sudden. Almost as if you're waiting for a text from a cute boy that you don't want us to know about," Maddie replies with a sip of her wine. "And I totally saw that contact picture, by the way. The way you smiled when you were on the phone with him was pretty telling, y'know."

"That's- that's cute," Buck responds after a moment's delay.

"Yeah, that hesitation sure is helping your case," Chimney says, rolling his eyes.

"Okay!" Buck says suddenly, quickly standing up with a red face. "I'm going to bed! I'm not having this conversation anymore! You're both the worst and you're totally made for each other. Good  _night_." He quickly flounces out of the room and as soon as the door to Maddie's spare room slams shut, both Maddie and Chimney burst into laughter.

 

***

 

A couple days later and Buck very anxiously shows up at the coffee shop Eddie specified over the phone. He looks around worriedly when he doesn't see Eddie right away. He's about to turn and walk out, say that he at least tried, when Eddie rushes over to him.

"You made it!" Eddie says, smile wide and just a tad on the goofy side as he makes his way over to Buck. "Hey."

"Hey," Buck replies, smiling in a way that could almost be considered  _shy_. He takes a second to fully take in Eddie's appearance and  _wow_. The flannel that Eddie's wearing is hugging him in all the right places and Buck suddenly feels very flustered. "You look nice."

"Thanks," Eddie replies quietly, maybe even a bit sheepish, with a lopsided grin. "I-I wasn't sure if you were gonna show. You seemed a little hesitant on the phone."

"Yeah. Um..." Buck starts, shifting from foot to foot nervously as he rubs the back of his neck. "I guess I was nervous?"

"Nervous?" Eddie asks, and the way he tilts his head a slight bit makes Buck's heart beat just that much faster. "How come?"

"After you called me, my sister kind of got into my head about it?" Buck says, though the lilt in his voice makes it sound like more of a question. "Like, her and Chim kept accusing me of having a crush on you. It was... It was really weird." Eddie laughs a little and Buck can't help the way that his heart skips a beat or two.

"Come on, I saved us a table," Eddie responds and Buck is grateful that he doesn't comment on the whole 'crush' thing. Buck desperately does  _not_ want to think about how true Maddie's words were the other night. Eddie turns and walks deeper into the coffee shop and Buck follows after a moment. The way Eddie smiles at him when they both sit down makes Buck melt a little.

"So," Buck says eloquently.

"So," Eddie repeats, tilting his head a slight bit. "How've you been?"

"I've been good. Tryna find a new apartment to move into 'cause I feel kinda bad about taking over my sister's spare room," Buck replies, watching Eddie carefully. "Something tells me that you didn't invite me here to talk about 'what's new.'"

"You got me," Eddie replies. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Buck's stomach clenches a little at that. He worries for a second that this is it, Eddie's going to tell Buck that he hates him and he's going to leave Buck at the coffee shop, alone and brokenhearted.

"Should I be worried?" Buck jokes, though it doesn't quite meet his eyes.

"That depends," Eddie says quietly, staring down at his hands resting on the table. Buck's stomach clenches even more at that, but he doesn't say anything. His mouth is a little too dry and he's a little too paralyzed with fear to be able to formulate sentences. "I just... I've had something on my mind for a while, and I think I'd probably go crazy if I kept this to myself any longer."

"Okay?" Buck asks carefully. The anticipation is killing him at this point, but at the same time, he would rather live in purgatory than have his worst fear confirmed. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Eddie replies, making a vague gesture with his hands. "Just a little nervous, y'know?" Buck nods and smiles in a way that he hopes is at least somewhat reassuring. Eddie takes a deep breath and smiles gratefully at Buck for a moment. "Alright, here we go. You're my best friend, Buck. Probably the best friend I've ever had. And until recently, that's  _all_ I thought it was, y'know? I always enjoy hanging out with you, and Christopher does, too. I mean, he loves you. He's always asking about you, asking when you're gonna hang out with us again. And just recently, I realized that I feel the same way he does. I realized that I'm always excited to see you again. I realized that, y'know, I love you. I  _love_ you, Buck." Buck's breath hitches a little bit at that. "And if you don't feel the same way, that's okay. I just needed you to know."

"Wow," Buck whispers, mostly to himself. He runs a hand over his face and shakes his head in disbelief. He doesn't think there's anything that Eddie could've said that would be better than  _this_. "Here I was, thinking you were about to tell me that you hate my guts." Eddie laughs a little and Buck decides to take a slight risk and reach across the table to rest one of his hands on top of Eddie's. He gets a fluttery feeling in his chest when Eddie turns his hand to interlock his fingers with Buck's.

"I guess this means you feel the same?" Eddie asks, tilting his head slight bit.

"Yeah," Buck replies dreamily. "When Maddie accused me of having a crush on you, she... She wasn't wrong."

"I'm glad to hear it," Eddie says after a moment, a wide grin slowly spread across his face.

"If I ask if I can kiss you, does that mean I can also call you my boyfriend?" Buck suddenly asks, breaking the momentary silence that follows. The laughter that bubbles out of Eddie warms Buck's chest.

"Only if I can call you my boyfriend, too," Eddie replies teasingly.

"Deal," Buck says with an impossibly wide grin. He carefully leans over the table and presses his lips to Eddie's and,  _oh_. He's always thought that the concept of sparks flying with a first kiss was a total lie, but this kiss has fireworks going off in his brain and his stomach flip-flopping. He cautiously reaches up with his free hand to gently frame Eddie's face and he smiles into it when he feels Eddie's hand on his face, too. After what feels like both forever and not enough time, Buck slowly pulls away and he could absolutely live in the smile that Eddie flashes to him.

"Hey, boyfriend," Eddie says so sweetly that it makes Buck snort.

"Hey, boyfriend," Buck repeats, and he realizes that he has never felt so warm and happy and in love. "I love you, too, y'know. I'm so glad I met you."

"I'm so glad I met you, too," Eddie replies, gently rubbing his thumb against Buck's hand and Buck is certain that nothing could ever feel as wonderful as this moment does.


End file.
